The Weekly Wrap: Oct. 25 – Oct.31 - Top Story

By: Jack EncarnacaoNov 1, 2008

The Weekly Wrap walks readers through the last seven days in
MMA, recapping the week's top story, important news and notable
quotes.

Top Story

It may have looked predictable on paper, but the latest fight
involving pound-for-pound king Anderson
Silva ended up producing several twists, as well as a
surprising amount of negativity toward the dominant middleweight
champion. Silva baffled some and annoyed others in his fight
against Patrick Cote
atop UFC 90 on Oct. 25, implementing a style that flaunted his
superiority.

Silva made several Kung Fu-esque hand motions and other puzzling
gestures before Cote went down with a serious knee injury in the
third round. Silva did not live up to his billing as a dismantler,
picking his shots sparingly and never quite blitzing for the kill,
though Cote absorbed heavy shots that landed flush. Cote collapsed
shortly into the third after aggravating a pre-existing meniscus
injury, and Silva was awarded the anti-climactic victory by
technical knockout.

Several prominent mixed martial arts writers and even UFC President
Dana White called into question the performance, a backlash that so
peeved Silva that, according to White, he demanded to fight again
immediately. The UK magazine Fighters Only reported Silva will
likely be on the UFC’s next card in London, set for February,
though White said Silva was ready to go as soon as UFC 91 in two
weeks.

Cote became the first person to take Silva to a third round in the
UFC, a fact he himself stressed in several interviews. His knee
injury will require surgery and keep him out of action for six to
eight months, which makes it unlikely Silva’s next title defense
will be a rematch with the Canadian. Cote’s manager, Stephane
Patry, told The Canadian Press that he suffered the meniscus injury
while training for a fight against Drew McFedries in January and
re-aggravated it preparing for Silva. A doctor had urged surgery,
but Cote opted for a cortisone shot so he could fight Silva.

For his part, Silva told Sherdog.com that his uncharacteristic
antics in the fight were meant to induce Cote into making a mistake
in the later rounds. He apologized at the UFC 90 post-fight press
conference for not delivering a more forceful fight.

The result was a deflating end to a strong pay-per-view offering,
as the UFC made its debut in the Chicago market at the Allstate
Arena in Rosemont, Ill. The 15,359 fans on hand translated into a
$2.8 million take at the gate, a record for the venue that
surpassed a mark set by a World Wrestling Entertainment
“Wrestlemania” in 2006.

Though the number of pay-per-view buys will not be clear for
several weeks, the show was the strongest test to date for whether
or not Silva has reached an echelon as a drawing card that
approaches his echelon as a fighter. The Spike TV “Countdown to UFC
90” preview drew 796,000 viewers, according to MMA Payout, thought
to be the highest rating in the history of a series that premiered
in 2005 and has hyped every UFC pay-per-view since. Silva’s ability
to draw buys would not only benefit the UFC but also Silva himself,
as he receives a contractual percentage of that revenue on shows he
headlines, according to the Wrestling Observer.

Regardless of whether Silva broke out as a top draw at UFC 90,
several fighters took it upon themselves to break out in rankings
for their respective weight classes.

Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Thiago Alves' stock
continues to rise.

Thiago
Alves put on a clinic against Josh
Koscheck, shutting down all of the elite wrestler’s takedown
attempts and working leg kicks that battered his opponent, a late
replacement for Diego
Sanchez. The American Top Team ace made as convincing a case as
possible for a welterweight title shot, even impressing champion
Georges
St. Pierre. With St. Pierre set to face B.J. Penn in
January, it remains unclear when a title opportunity might present
itself.

At lightweight, Sean Sherk
proved he’s still in contention, as he defeated fellow wrestler
Tyson
Griffin by unanimous decision. The fight played out almost
entirely on the feet and featured several fits of crisp striking.
Sherk and Griffin collected $65,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses
for their efforts. Sherk said afterward that he wants the winner of
the Nov. 15 fight between Kenny
Florian and Joe
Stevenson.

The UFC 90 “Knockout of the Night” bonus went to sudden heavyweight
prospect Junior dos
Santos, who dropped Fabricio
Werdum in 81 seconds with a perfectly scouted right uppercut.
The punch halted Werdum’s march toward a heavyweight title
shot.

Elsewhere, Spencer
Fisher worked a diligent triangle to put away Shannon
Gugerty in the third round and take the “Submission of the
Night” bonus. Gray
Maynard battled the active ground game of Rich
Clementi -- and boos from a restless crowd -- as he took a
unanimous decision. Also picking up wins were Dan Miller --
who improved to 2-0 in the UFC by outpointing a very game Matt Horwich
-- and Thales
Leites, who had no trouble with late replacement Drew
McFedries, submitting him briskly with a rear naked choke in
the first round.